On December 17, 2017, City of Beverly Hills joined the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) formerly known as Los Angeles Community Choice Energy (LACCE) - (www.cleanpoweralliance.org)

The CPA is a Los Angeles and Ventura County community choice aggregation (CCA) program which allows local municipalities to pool their electrical needs and purchase electricity on behalf of residents, businesses and municipal agencies. The existing utility in this case, Southern California Edison (SEC) will continue to manage the transmission and distribution of the power purchased by the CPA through the existing power grid and power lines. SCE will also continue to provide customer billing and customer service.

One of the goals of the CPA is to purchase cleaner and more renewable electricity for the same or lesser price than SCE. The CPA also intends to develop renewable energy programs that would decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce the effects of climate change. This may include providing incentives and rebates for rooftop solar and battery storage systems, energy efficiency projects, and reduced charging rates for electrical vehicles.

The CPA will start providing renewable energy to its members starting with the County-owned facilities in 2018 as part of Phase 1 and will proceed to Phase 2 (Commercial, Industrial, and Municipal customers) and Phase 3 (Residential, agricultural, and street lighting customers) afterwards.

The CPA will also be distributing outreach materials to help understand the service and benefits available to CPA customers.

One of the benefits of being a CPA customer is that you will be able to choose a renewable energy product or stay an SCE customer. A CPA customer can choose from the following energy product:

36% Renewable

50% Renewable

100% Renewable

A customer will be able to make their choice for a renewable energy product or stay with SCE by responding to the notices sent by the CPA. A customer will be receiving two notices; a 60-day and 30-day notice prior to the start of Phase 2 and Phase 3 implementation and 30-days after the implementation date. If the customer does not respond to the notices, they will be automatically enrolled as a CPA customer and will receive an energy product selected by their city as a default tier. If the customer elects to stay with SCE, they can do so by replying within the 60-day noticing. If the customer elects to switch back to SCE after 60 days of implementation, a small transaction fee maybe charged to providers.

To make the selection easier for all Beverly Hills customers, the City Council selected the 50% Renewable Energy Product as the community's default tier. This means that all customers will be enrolled under this product unless the customer chooses the 36% or 100% product. It is important that each customer is aware of the notices and respond accordingly.

CPA will begin serving customers through a three-phase enrollment period. The initial group of customers which are Los Angeles County owned facilities begin enrollment in January 2018. The second and third phases will take place later in 2018.

How will joining the CPA affect my electrical rates?

By joining the CPA, you can benefit from having a similar or lower rate than what you currently have with SCE for a higher level of renewable energy. The CPA Board of Directors will be making rate decisions in the next few months prior to serving the customers.

What options do I have for electricity?

As a customer, you will be given a notice during the 60-day enrollment period where you can:

Do Nothing – which will automatically enroll you as a CPA customer and receive 50% Renewable Energy

Reply to “Opt-Out” – which you will remain as an SCE customer

Reply to “Opt-Down” - which will enroll you as a CPA customer and receive 36% Renewable Energy

Reply to “Opt-Up” – which will enroll you as a CPA customer and receive 100% Renewable Energy

Where will I get my electric bills?

SCE will still send your electric bills. In your electric bill, you will see CPA under the Generation Charges section of your bill.

How do I choose not to participate in the CPA program?

60 days prior to offering any CPA service, SCE customers will be sent at least two Notice Letters via U. S. Post. Customers need to respond to these letters, saying they will opt-out of the CPA if they wish to remain with SCE. Customers can also learn more through a dedicated CPA phone number and the CPA website. After that initial period, if customers do not respond and are automatically enrolled into the CPA, they may opt-out at any time. However, there will be a small fee to do so.

How much will it cost to opt-out?

Within 60 days following the effective service date, a customer can opt-out at no cost. After that, the CPA anticipates a $1.50 fee to switch back to SCE.

How will I be notified that I may opt-out?

The CPA and Beverly Hills will publicize the opt-out period and opt-out instructions in many ways, such as: the two Notice Letters sent by the CPA via U.S. Post, e-mail blasts, social media, the City’s website, and press releases.

Will all customers in Beverly Hills get the same CPA default tier?

Yes, unless the customer selects a different CPA tier by responding to one of the two Notice Letters they receive in the mail.

Is there any coal or nuclear power in the electricity that the CPA purchases?

The CPA will not sign any contracts that include energy from coal or nuclear power resources.

Can CPA member cities change their default option in the future?

Yes. The CPA anticipates that each of its member cities (including Beverly Hills) will be asked once per year to select the default renewable energy tier for their community.

Are CPA customers still eligible to participate in SCE programs, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy incentive programs?

Yes. CPA customers remain eligible for SCE rebate programs since those are funded by Public Purpose Program fees. Those fees will still be listed on SCE bills.

If a customer has solar panels and participates in a net energy metering rate, will they still get that rate when enrolled in the CPA program?

Yes. The CPA will offer Net Energy Metering rates that are the same or better than those currently offered by SCE.

Are CPA customers still eligible for CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline discounts?

Yes. CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline discounts are available to CPA customers as well as SCE customers. The same discount applies regardless of enrollment with the CPA or SCE. Since customers enrolled in the CPA continue to receive their CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline discount within their SCE delivery charges, there is no need to reapply for the discounts as a CPA customer. New CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline enrollments or renewals must still be done through SCE's customer service center or their website.

How will the CPA procure power to meet the default renewable energy tier selected?

The CPA will have a combination of short and long-term contracts with a variety of power suppliers to meet the energy needs of all its member city customers (including Beverly Hills). The exact proportion of renewable resources varies with time and is based on demand and availability. The CPA will provide detailed information about their power supply in their annual Power Content Label report.

How can Beverly Hills be sure that the CPA is actually procuring 36%, 50% or 100% renewable energy on behalf of its customers?

The CPA is required to submit annual reports to the California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission to verify the amount of renewable energy delivered to its customers. This is the same verification method SCE has to follow.

What types of default product options do the other CCAs offer?

The other CCAs in California have offerings similar to the ones being offered by CPA. Some do not offer a base tier (36%) that is comparable to SCE; rather, they start at 50% renewable energy. Here is a summary of what other CCA’s are currently offering in California:

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